A Conversation In The Alleyway
by lilmisswritergal4eva82719511
Summary: Gabriel Silk had never actually considered Olivia Vertigo a close friend. A conversation in an alley beside a dumpster about problems, phones, and Geography marks -with some denying involved- obviously changed that. Some Gabriel/Emma and Olivia/Fidelio


**A/N: The thing with the phone really happened to me. Except I fixed it myself. So I figured I'd write about it, then Gabe and Livvie came into my head and this is what spawned out of it. :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie Bone… otherwise Olivia and Fidelio would've gotten together loooooooong time ago. I don't own "All To Myself" either.**

* * *

I'd never really thought of myself as "close" with Olivia Vertigo.

Not to say we weren't friends, or anything. After all, we'd known each other since we were eleven. We'd fought with Charlie and the rest of the endowed to stop a war… once again, at the age of eleven. So of course, being the _very normal_ children we were (I'm _really_ hoping the sarcasm was apparent in that), we'd all had a degree of a close relationship with each other in one way or another. Everyone in the group had a sort of togetherness, where they _knew_ each other so easily.

After all, you wouldn't think to see Fidelio Gunn and Emma Tolly would play chopsticks under a tree, both listening to Maroon 5. (Emma won that game, by the way; just because she's amazing like that.)

And I would have _never_ believed the fact that Billy Raven tutored Tancred Torsson in biology if I hadn't watched the whole lesson myself. (The animals told Billy all he needed to know. He passed that knowledge on to Tancred.)

Let's not forget the time Charlie Bone and Lysander Sage were having a _huge_ quarrel; almost one as bad as the endowed war itself…

It was if actual chocolate-chip cookie dough was better than chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream.

They settled it by throwing some of each at me and having my reaction. (My answer to their question… _What's the difference?_) They didn't even bother hearing the verdict; they were laughing too much at "the look on Gabriel's face!"

Personally, I didn't find it too funny. Obviously, I was wrong.

But anyway, so a person could tell that, no matter how unexpected, the endowed were a close group.

Except Olivia and I. You'd never hear anyone say "Oh, I saw Olivia and Gabriel doing this" or anything. It was a rare occurrence that our names were even used in the same sentence. As far as we knew, we had _nothing_ in common other than the people we called our friends.

That's why the way we actually became close friends shocked _everyone_… including us.

* * *

It was all because of Olivia was crying, as weird as it is.

I'd been on my way to the bookshop, needing to speak to Emma. We'd planned to study together for our Geography exam coming up, but she bailed out on me. It wouldn't have bothered me _too_ much, if it weren't for the fact that we were both kind of failing Geography (as a result of playing cards in class all the time… hey, the teacher never noticed, alright?) and Emma had ditched me to hang out with some guy in her Science class.

But I was more worried about the whole "we're going to fail Geography if we don't study" thing. No, honestly, that bugged me more.

(And the fact that "All To Myself" by Marianas Trench was on repeat on my mp3 was a pure coincidence. Seriously, it was.)

So, since I kind of wanted to get there as soon as possible (not because I wanted to see Emma… it was because I _really_ needed to study), I decided to take a shortcut through the alley by the cathedral. And I would have, too… except I heard a strange sound. I stopped and listened.

It sounded like someone was _crying_.

What was I supposed to do? Take the long way around and leave the person alone? Or go see if they needed help? What if they were in trouble? But what if it was some crazy evil terrorist person trying to lure some unsuspecting victim into a trap resulting in a kidnapping that would ultimately lead to the victim's gruesome and horrific death after many ransoms unfulfilled by the government?

… Okay, note to self; stop reading dad's crazy horror-spy-mystery novels in the middle of the night. Try studying for Geography instead. Or sleep. Yeah, I think sleep would probably be a bit more important.

Anyway; after standing in the same spot like an idiot for what was probably a good, solid five minutes, curiosity got the better of me (I blame my dad's novels) and walked into the alley, preparing myself for the worst.

Yes, I was preparing for a crazy person who would try to attack/kidnap me and ask ransom from the government. Thanks for turning your kid into an idiot, dad.

Except there was no evil villain waiting at the end of the alleyway… it was _Olivia_. Yep, Olivia; who was sitting with her back against the wall of a building, beside one of those giant rectangular garbage bins, head on her knees, which were pulled up to her chest, and practically sobbing her eyes out.

Now, I'm sure everyone would think it'd be weird if they saw Olivia Vertigo cry, and let me tell you; it's even weirder than you would think. I stood there, dumbfounded and trying to figure out what to say. I was spared the first word, however, when Olivia looked up to see me standing there, mouth open and gaping like a fish. She opened her mouth, starting with "Oh… uh, hey, Gabriel…"

She would've probably said more if I hadn't been for my outburst of, "Are you _crying_?"

All hail Gabriel Silk; master of calm, cool, and collected. That was so smooth, there should be a milkshake named after me.

The only thing that came out of Olivia's mouth was "Uh…"

All hail Olivia Vertigo; master of making people feel less of an idiot. I actually felt intelligent after that reply. (The sad part was that I wasn't kidding.)

Okay, this was the point I decided to be serious and stop acting like a clueless loser who had no idea how to handle a crying girl… no matter how spot-on that was.

I sat down beside her and asked "What's wrong?" She looked at me before looking back to her knees and whispered something.

"What was that?" I asked, cautiously. Okay, this for sure felt kind of weird. She sighed and spoke again.

"It's my phone," she said.

I stared at her for a second. _Really?_ No, you are not going to be so freaked out that she was crying over her _phone_ and run, Gabriel. You as going to let her explain herself. Stay. Staaaaaay. Stay. Good. I hoped she would continue without my prompting and after a second (she probably felt the stares I was practically drilling into her head), she did.

"It's just that about a month and a half ago, my phone got screwed up, so I got this really crappy replacement for it while the people at the phone shop or whatever fixed it and it drove me insane and I absolutely _hated_ it with a total passion. I mean, Tancred once made a stupid comment about it and I almost threw it at him, not because he was wrong, but because he was _right_ and I _did not_ need him reminding me about how terrible it was. So, finally, about a week ago, we heard something about the phone because the people finally called us and it turns out that my phone was so screwed up that I needed a new one and I didn't mind too much, except that they had the phone for a month and waited this long to tell us this and I would have to keep the loaner phone. So I just really didn't want to keep it. So then my mom just got me a new phone that looks exactly like my old one, but it's already really screwed up, so it's just upsetting."

She stayed quietly after that, so I figured she was finished. Okay, seriously? _That_ was why she was crying? That's a little sad. I was about to say something about her little monologue, except she spoke again.

"That's not the only reason, but it was kind of my breaking point. I'm not a crazy materialistic person or anything. I'm just a little nostalgic, because that was my first phone and there's just a lot happening at right now and it's all pretty much out of control and… yeah. Like I said, it's my breaking point."

Thank you, Olivia, for proving me wrong. Seriously, thank you.

(That wasn't sarcastic at all. I honestly meant that.)

I stayed quiet for a second before my curiosity got the best of me and I asked "What were the other reasons?"

She looked at me a little oddly before looking down again. "I don't want to bore you with my problems."

"Well, hey; I'm supposed to be here as a listener-person, right? So let me. And, I'm actually kind of curious," I told her.

She sighed, like she was preparing herself (I was mentally doing the same, because honestly? I was expecting to be told about some huge secret scandal. After all, you never knew with Olivia) and she said "It's just… final exams are coming up and my teachers have gone like, trigger-happy with homework and I've been losing a _lot_ of sleep over it. So I'm pretty stressed out over that. I mean, I had a presentation for English worth five percent of my final mark and a huge essay due for History, except the night before it was due, I was putting on the finishing touches around midnight, when one of my dorm-mates spilt something she made in Science class on it and it was unreadable, so I spent from twelve to four-thirty in the morning re-doing the essay _and_ I had a presentation from one of my Drama courses first thing in the morning and that was all within two days and all the stress has just been killing me. That and some other stuff."

She paused, probably figuring she'd told me enough. I was kind of in shock, because that was _not_ some huge secret scandal. It was actually pretty normal. Scratch that, it was _very_ normal. I felt bad for a second for thinking that Olivia was involved in some giant problem that included a ton of people. Instead, I decided to focus on something else, like the last thing she said. "What kind of other stuff?"

She didn't sigh this time, just went straight into talking. "Well, for Drama, there are sort of two leaders in the class and that's me and one other girl–" I raised my eyebrow at her, asking for a name. She continued, "–named Eden, and she's just been driving me insane because she's like this crazy dictator who doesn't really care about how the rest of the class feels. And it's driving me insane because I can't really do anything about it, because it's her way or no way and she _never_ listens to a thing I say." While she took a breath, I remembered that Fidelio had mentioned that a girl named Eden had a huge crush on him… And I swear he mentioned something about her being in one of Olivia's classes…

"Is this the same Eden that likes Fidelio?" I blurted. Olivia looked surprised before sullenly nodding her head and saying "It gives me another reason to absolutely despise her."

Well, that made sense. Olivia hadn't made a huge secret of liking Fidelio, but he couldn't pick up on the hints she dropped. The sad part? The same thing applied when you switched their perspectives.

I looked over at Olivia again and she looked upset again. In a strange moment of clarity, I gently asked, "Is Fidelio also one of these reasons for you crying?"

"He hasn't done _anything_," she said, "And that's the problem. I drop hints and I kind of flirt and I don't hide the fact that I like him, but he never _does_ anything with them. It's not like he doesn't notice either; after all, I'm pretty sure he can tell that I don't treat Charlie or Tancred or Lysander or Billy or you like that. And of course, Eden's a crazy obsessive stalker over him. Then there's the fact that I'm pretty sure I once heard Gwyneth Hallows talking about how she was thinking about asking him out. And what sucks is that he doesn't really have a reason to say no to them, and I wouldn't be able to talk him out of it because what am I supposed to say? 'Don't go out with them because they're terrible people and I've had a huge crush on you for the better part of five years?'" She stopped, looking a little relieved. I just thought of the fact that he'd say 'no' because he liked Olivia too much.

"And then this morning I burnt my left thumb and then on the way here, the phone thing happened and it kind of hit really hard and I just kind of snapped," she finished. Looking at me, she said "Thanks for letting me dump all my problems on you. I kind of needed it."

I smiled. "Hey, a friend in need is a friend indeed, right?" I then frowned and scrunched up my forehead before asking "What does that saying even mean? I've never actually understood it."

Olivia laughed. "I never did either. Let's just say it's appropriate for this situation, and if anyone denies it, we'll pull a Charlie-and-Lysander and throw chocolate-chip cookie dough and chocolate-chip cookie dough ice-cream at them."

"They did that to you, too?" I exclaimed. Her eyes widened.

"I wasn't the only one?" She cried back. "Those two are _soooo_ in for it."

"Agreed," I nodded.

"We should start planning some revenge."

"Definitely."

We stayed quiet for a moment or two before Olivia asked me a question.

"So, what are you doing here, anyway?"

"I was actually coming to see Emma," I said, my cheeks slightly reddening, "To study for Geography, I mean. We're both on the verge of failing and we really needed to study. But she didn't come to our study session, so I came to see why not. And then I was going to come through here as a shortcut but I heard you, so I couldn't figure out if I should see what was happening or not, but I decided too. You know, because I'm such a good person and all." I ended off cheekily. I decided to add, "Especially since I thought you were a crazy person with plans to use me for ransom on the government."

Olivia looked at me before laughing and saying "Really? Do I look like a crazy person to you? Actually, wait, don't answer that. You're on the verge of failing Geography? Wow, Gabriel, I would've never expected that from you."

I didn't like the way she said it; like she knew something I didn't. Or more like she knew something I was hiding. Not that I was hiding anything. Nope, not at all. I decided to change the topic.

"Can I see your phone for a second?" I asked. She looked confused, but handed it over nonetheless. I turned it around and easily pried open the backing of it. Olivia gasped and cried "What are you doing?" I ignored her and took out the battery. After a few seconds, I put it back in, put the backing on, and turned the phone on. I handed the phone back to its owner and her jaw dropped.

"You… _you_ fixed it!" She said in awe.

I shrugged. "My mom has phone problems all the time. My sisters and me; we usually have to help her fix it."

Olivia grinned and threw her arms around me. "Thank you _so_ much. I owe for like, ever because of this. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I merely just returned her hug (albeit kind of awkwardly) and told her it was no problem.

Obviously, letting out her feelings and getting her phone fixed left her in a better mood than before. She got up, pulled me up as well, and said "Thanks for this, Gabriel. I really needed it. And you should get to the bookshop. Don't want to keep Emma waiting, do you?" (She added a stupid wink at the end. What was that supposed to mean?) While practically skipping off, she stopped and turned, asking "Since we both know you're not actually failing Geography, what _is_ your mark?"

"Eighty-nine," I smirked. I didn't bother trying to hide it (and no, I'm not talking about the mark).

After that, I headed to the bookshop to see Emma and she explained that she actually had to help wit wedding plans for her aunt and Charlie's uncle and asked if I just wanted to study right there and then. I said yes, and we actually studied, (no cards this time) and when it was over, I went home thinking about the study-session and my conversation with Olivia.

* * *

And after that, things just got better. Emma didn't fail Geography (I admitted to her that I wasn't failing at all and she almost throttled me. Note to self; never get Emma mad), Tancred got something thrown at him for the comment he made about Olivia's loaner phone (okay, so not so good for him, but oh well), Fidelio asked Olivia out (to which she happily freaked out and said yes), Billy… well, something good probably happened to him… I finally admitted my feelings to Emma (and myself, really… and it turned… pretty awesomely, actually), and Olivia and I actually became friends. Because looking back, we were more like acquaintances and that conversation really helped.

Oh, and Charlie and Lysander finally got their comeuppances. Hm, well what do you know? There _isn't_ a difference between chocolate-chip cookie dough and chocolate-chip cookie dough ice-cream. They're _both_ equally unbelievably hard to get out of your hair. Would Olivia and I have anything to do with that… you know, the part where it was drizzled with glue when it fell on them?

"OLIVIA FELICITY VERTIGO! GABRIEL DOMINIC SILK! YOU BOTH ARE DEAD!"

"WE WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

Psh, obviously not.

* * *

**A/N: I'm quite sure this is the longest one-shot I've written. Choppy ending, and the title's not that great, but oh well. I liked it :)**

**Word Count: 3,000**

**Time Posted: Between 11:30 PM – 11:45 PM**

**- May :)**


End file.
